The FC Barcelona has kicked off the 2024/25 season of the Champions League in a particularly tumultuous manner. The Blaugrana team has inaugurated their participation in the quest for the 'Big Ears' with a resounding defeat against AS Monaco (2-1). In this match, Barça was forced to swim against the current with one player down for approximately 80 minutes, following the expulsion of Eric García in the 10th minute of the match.
The expulsion of the defender from Martorell inevitably seemed to influence the performance of an FC Barcelona that lacked ideas to breach a well-organized Monegasque team. Additionally, Adi Hütter's men knew how to capitalize on their numerical superiority to control the course of the match with great efficiency.
This stumble against the Principality team now takes on a highly anecdotal character. Why? Firstly, because Hansi Flick's squad has fallen for the second time against Monaco in less than two months; and secondly, because this defeat in their debut in the Champions League poses a significant challenge for FC Barcelona. Historically, the Culés have not performed well in the competition when starting with a setback.
The tough challenge that FC Barcelona will face after starting with a defeat in the 2024/25 Champions League
According to the statistics of the numbers expert Alexis Martín Tamayo, known as Mister Chip, FC Barcelona has started their adventure in the Champions League, losing on three occasions: in the 1997/98, 2021/22 seasons, and the current 2024/25 season. What is the peculiarity of these two precedents? That the Blaugrana team failed to advance past the group stage in any of these competitions.
How did FC Barcelona perform in the 1997/98 season?
In the Champions League of the 1997/98 season, FC Barcelona started by losing 3-2 against Newcastle United. How did they fare subsequently? They drew 2-2 with PSV Eindhoven, lost 3-0 against Dynamo Kiev, then 0-4, won 1-0 against Newcastle, and ended with a 2-2 draw against PSV Eindhoven, only amassing three points and finishing at the bottom of their group.
How did FC Barcelona perform in the 2021/22 season?
In the Champions League of the 2021/22 season, the Culé team began by losing 0-3 against Bayern Munich. What was their performance thereafter? FC Barcelona suffered a defeat against SL Benfica by 3-0, secured two victories against Dynamo Kiev with scores of 1-0 and 0-1, had a 0-0 draw against SL Benfica, and finally another loss against Bayern Munich by 3-0, finishing third in their group with seven points, which allowed them to at least qualify for the Europa League.
Can Barça change this history?
Now, it will be interesting to see if FC Barcelona can alter these precedents, which become more significant considering that, according to Mister Chip, no team that has lost the first match of the group stage in the Champions League has ever gone on to win the tournament. However, it is clear that records are meant to be broken, isn't it? Especially when considering that the battle for the 'Big Ears' now features a new league-style format, which expands the options and changes the scenarios.